Whangarei

I'm sitting here outside a McDonalds using their wireless internet. It's not free mind you. There aren't free wireless sites like in the US. I'm trying to download the blogs we've written while on the road.

Since we’re still getting organized, we decided to spend the first two nights in a Top 10 Holiday Park. The Top Ten Holiday Parks are the nicest, and the most expensive holiday parks in New Zealand. It was $78 for two nights! We went shopping for pots and pans and silverware and towels, only to return most of it because we realized we don’t have room for things like kettles when you can use a pot instead. When we tried to find a place for everything in the small caravan, we realized we needed to take a more minimalist approach. Getting things organized and setup takes a while, especially with children, but is an important step to keeping sane. We’re still working on it.

Quinne enjoyed playing with the other kids on the trampoline. The park borders a reserve with walks through magnificent Kauri groves. Other than the beautiful walks on the outskirts, Whangarei isn’t the most beautiful town to hang out in, but it doesn’t take long to get outside Whangarei and enter a completely different world. Whangarei is the last chance to stock up on supplies and conveniences before heading north. The stress of stocking up and getting things we needed before the weekend was getting to us. We couldn’t wait to be on our way again.

It didn’t take long before the road narrowed and we were forced to slow down, relax, and take in the peaceful green fields bordering thick forests. We stopped at an art gallery and café to take a break. We chatted with a German guy who worked for Siemens in Munich before being laid off four years ago. He and his wife toured around the world and settled here to open the café next to the art gallery. It suited the gallery owner who wanted the traffic. This is their third year, and now they have an 18-month-old kiwi boy of their own.

20 minutes further down the road, we stopped for supplies for dinner. There wasn’t much in the way of greens at the local store. We should’ve stopped at the farm stands just outside Whangarei. The local beach looked inviting, but we needed to find somewhere to stay before we could relax too much. After another 20 minutes, we saw a sign for Karibu Creek Camping. This is where we stayed last night. Maxine, who is originally from Zimbabwe, owns this piece of land about 45 minutes north of Whangarei. We knew she was from southern Africa when we had to avoid guinea fowl on her driveway. Maxine has a chicken coop with all sorts of hens and roosters. She rents out two cottages and is getting ready to open an arts and crafts shop.

Here's a picture of Quinne and Maxine feeding the chickens.



It was great to be able to pick fresh herbs, lettuce, spinach, potatoes and snap peas from her garden. We're starting to get in a grove with the caravan. Amy made a wonderful loaf of bread this morning.



Here's Amy sticking her head out of our van at Karibu Creek